


Blend Into Me

by QuillOfFortune



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Department of Magical Sports and Games!Harry Potter, Drabble, Emotionally Constipated Tom Riddle, Ficlet, M/M, Who Knows What Tom’s Ministry Job Is Not Me, one-night stand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-19 19:16:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17607335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuillOfFortune/pseuds/QuillOfFortune
Summary: Blending into a crowd was for those who weren’t confident in their ability to control said crowd.





	Blend Into Me

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in an hour in my phone notes. It is not edited or anything, so here yah go. 
> 
> Would it be showing my age if I did a clever way of saying I own nothing but my own ideas I brought to this? Yeah? Okay then. Enjoy!

There are plenty of ways to blend into a crowd. 

Here are just a few key elements.

Don’t look important. Wear simple clothes and don’t carry any additional items. Dress in neutral colors.

Don’t draw attention to yourself. Go with the flow of those around you. Behave based upon the set social expectations that you see. 

It is also easier to blend in if you stick to the thickest part of the crowd instead of drifting to the edges. 

Any one of these singular tips and tricks provide a level of anonymity in the otherwise rumor driven Wizarding World. Which is what most people want when attempting to approach their nameless one-night stand in the middle of the Ministry of Magic. 

Tom Riddle preferred none of these techniques. 

He was already rankled from his lack of information on the man who he had seduced while leaving the Ministry Yule Ball. 

Ministry parties were always a rush of double edged words and brown nosing at the beginning of the night. As the party goers threw back their drinks, however? Tom found their drunken plays at politics far less enjoyable. Even if their weakness did lead to some delicious blackmail material. 

Tom had decided to turn in early when a man came barreling out of the floo and accosted him. 

Despite being hit square in the chest, he managed to stay upright somehow.

He considered whether he could get away with cursing this idiot. There were no witnesses. Everyone was in the main ballroom area. A simple obliviate afterwards and no one would be the wiser. 

“Bother,” Tom’s annoyance faded to something much more predatory as the man turned up his face, “sorry about that.”

Short, dark, and handsome in an uncharacteristic way. Horrid hair. His eyes, however, were the jewel of his appearance and the most vibrant green Tom had ever seen. 

It almost made him a bit homesick for the Slytherin dorm rooms. Pity they were hidden behind those coke-bottle glasses. Those would be the first thing to go when they got back to his flat. 

“No problem,” Tom said. “Though, I must say, your landing could use some work if you’re falling for strange men.” 

The other snorted. 

“That was a bad line, mate.”

“And yet you’re still leaning into my arms.”

The shorter male laughed, pulled himself back, and righted his skewed glasses. 

A bit of conversation.

“Arriving fashionably late?” 

“I’m not known to be fashionably anything. Drew the short straw for designated flooer. Just took my friend home.”

“Bit early.”

“He thought he could outdrink Finnegan from liquor licensing.”

A flash of his most charming grin.

“You’re not that charming you know.”

“No?”

“No. Actually, I’d wager you’re a bit of an ass and just good at hiding it.”

“Perhaps. And perhaps you’re attracted to that as much as charm.”

And an invitation back to his place had the pair tumbling through the floo and into his bed. 

He had fallen asleep with an ear pressed against his chest. Fingers on his sternum tapping a pattern that he realized must be his heartbeat as he drifted off to sleep. 

It was a satisfying end to the evening. 

Tom had a system for this type of arrangement. One-night stands demanded a polite but firm hand as he escorted them out of his flat. No morning after pillow talk. No breakfast. No awkward fumbling requests for more. 

It was a very effective system. 

Waking up to cold sheets was not a part of that system. There was no sign that the man had ever been in his flat. Even the few things that they had knocked over in their rush last night had been righted. 

Initially, he had appreciated the man’s foresight. As the days drew on, however, his one-night stand’s flight began to fester. Tom’s realization that he might want more came when he made an attempt at yet another one-night stand. 

He found his new partner lacking in ways he had previously never cared. 

The man was dull, plain and simple. Pretty as a bouquet of flowers and just as lifeless. 

He wanted the flowing conversation that came as close to Tom’s real personality as any other. The quiet, contained huffs of pleasure that lacked a performative element to them. The way they fit together after the more carnal acts were finished. 

Tom realized he had developed what others often termed as a crush. 

On a nameless man who left without a word. 

And maybe that was the true focus. Maybe he was stuck on this particular man due to his untouchable nature. 

Whatever the cause for his fixation, Tom was determined to face it and resolve the matter. 

So, when his nameless paramour’s emerald eyes widened upon spotting Tom crossing the atrium, he merrily called to the wild-haired man’s conversation partner. 

“Mr. Weasley! Do you mind if I steal your young friend for a moment? I have some very important matters to go over with him.” 

Blending into a crowd was for those who weren’t confident in their ability to control said crowd.

“What do you suppose Riddle wants with a Games and Sports lackey?”

“Who knows. Sticks his nose into every department, that one.”

Tom Riddle was plenty confident in his ability to do just that. Sometimes by just letting his reputation do the work for him. 

“Of course, I’ll see you around for family supper later? Molly’s making a pie. Don’t want to spoil the surprise by saying what type though.”

“Uh, right. Sounds good.” 

Parting waves were exchanged as the Weasley patriarch retreated.

Tom made a show of crinkling his eyes to imitate a smile that was all teeth. His focus came to rest on the man who had caused an upset in his life. 

He was just as Tom remembered him. Same horrid hair. Same ugly skewed round glasses. Same gorgeous eyes.

The flushed guilty look and shuffling was new. It made for quite the attractive picture. 

“Now, this is terribly awkward, but I do believe I missed your name.”


End file.
